Hello everybobdy! In May 2017, Zak and I will be undertaking a huge physical and mental challenge: backpacking the full 2600 mile length of the Pacific Crest Trail heading northbound from Campo, California near the Mexican border all the way back home into Canada, at Manning Park, BC. We know that it will take a huge amount of strength, resilience and teamwork to conquer our goal.
The trail extends through the states of California, Oregon and Washington. It covers stretches through desert and snowy mountains, through rain and shine, sometimes with no water sources for 20-30 miles. We will likely encounter countless rattlesnakes, and maybe even black bears, bobcats and mountain lions, among other less intimidating creatures. The goal is to cover an average of 20 miles per day with one rest day a week, in order to complete the trail in a maximum of 5 months (May through the end of September). Much of our resupply stops in small towns off the PCT will involve many miles of hitchhiking.
We hope to keep our base weight to 15 lbs or less, which includes all of our gear excluding food and water. This will require lightweight equipment, as every extra pound adds a great amount of weight spanning large distances and long periods of time on foot.
With that said, gear gets pretty expensive. Zak and I expect our entire trip to cost us around $5000 each. A breakdown of the costs goes as follows:
Gear - $1500
Food - $1500
Flights - $700
Resupply boxes - $500
Miscellaneous - $800 (including showers, laundry, bus fares to towns, occasional hostel stays, replacement gear)
Our supplies will include only the necessities:
Tent and footprint
Sleeping bags and liner
Sleeping pad
First aid kit
Knife
Bear spray
Rope
Microspikes (for shoes on snow, no falling off cliffs, etc.)
Water filter
Water bags/containers
Cookstove (for boiling water... instant mashed potatoes save lives)
Mosquito net
Baby powder (that chafing though)
Bear canister (so they don't sniff us out)
Clothes (base layer, mid layer, outer waterproof shell)
Darn Tough socks
4 pair of shoes (sent to us on the trail)
58L backpacks
Headlamps
Dry bags (for food and hanging)
Maps
Zak and I would greatly appreciate any help that anybody can offer us to afford our amazing adventure. As two hard working university students, we have decided that we would love to explore the world before we settle down and focus on our careers and starting our lives. There is no time like now, without any commitments tying us to one place. This is likely the only time in our lives when we will be free to truly get out and explore.
We do not expect, or even hope, for luxury on the trail. Rather, our simple goal is for safety and warmth on our journey. We are extremely determined and super excited to be embarking on a new adventure as a team. We hope to gain experience and learn as much as we can, along with meet some incredible and inspiring people as we go. We will be occasionally sending updates throughout our trek via Facebook with pictures and awesome stories! For more information on trail life and the trail itself, please visit www.pcta.org. Thank you to everyone for taking the time to read this. Your help goes a long way and we are beyond grateful for any amount we receive. If anyone has any (much needed) advice for success or tales to tell, feel free to comment or message me on Facebook. Please share our story to help us out! We hope for you to see us added to 2017's PCT list of 2600 Milers! Thank you again. Cheers everyone :)
